In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus promises, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” Peace? What does Jesus mean by that? On this weekend that we observe Memorial Day, honoring those who gave their lives in battles for peace and freedom, peace still seems to be elusive in our day. Despite the victories in past wars, and despite all of the energy and resources we put into protecting ourselves, we still are not at peace. Perhaps we are looking for peace in the wrong place. Jesus urges, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” His words refocus us to the question, “What needs to happen in our hearts so that we can find peace.?” In contrast to today’s uneasy balance of power, Jesus modeled an authentic peace, which is far beyond what the world can offer. It is a peace that begins and ends in love. Tensions in families are often unavoidable. However, which is more likely to bring reassuring healing to this friction? Anger and revenge, or compassion and forgiveness? Turbulence in the markets can leave us greedily scrambling for an economic advantage, or we can humbly trust God to provide for our needs. Fear can alert us that something is dangerously wrong, but it can also paralyze us in the face of the threat. Solid solutions come from unruffled confidence and strong faith. Stress can keep us up at night, damage our health and suck the joy out of life. If we relax our bodies and quiet our brains, we can approach life with a more productive focus. We can become hardened to the strangers waiting at our borders, sleeping under our bridges, or languishing in our jails. Or the strangers can become our brothers and sisters, as we can extend a warm embrace, a helping hand and a patient concern. In the end, we can allow the world’s anxieties to empty our hearts, or we can open them to the fullness of love. What we can do as Christians to make peace when we find ourselves trapped in division and turmoil? In his priceless wisdom, Jesus gives His love freely and encourage us to invite His Spirit of love to dwell in our hearts. If we live in that love, we will be transformed into the peace Christ promises!

A couple of things you may have noticed (or not)…… one, to make it easier for those with disabilities, we have installed automatic power assist to one door at every entrance to the church and one into the PLC from the church vestibule. In the past, the only door with power assist was at the rear of the church off the small parking lot. Secondly, we have installed new sconce lighting in church. The old fixtures were inefficient and some were broken. The new fixtures are attractive and contain highly efficient LED bulbs. Thanks to Steve Dodd who planned and installed all of the new fixtures gratis. We are also looking at more efficient and brighter lighting for the church. Next, using the profits from last years’ MercyFest, new sound system equipment is being installed in the church on May 28th and 29th. And, last of all, there is a 10 slot bicycle rack near the entrance of church. A smaller rack is back by the chapel.

Have a safe Memorial Day holiday, and join us for Mass on Memorial Day at 9:00AM.

Fr Don

This weekend I am away on vacation. For all the times I have visited California, I have never been to Yosemite National Park. It’s been on my “bucket list” ever since I watched the Ken Burns series on the history of our national parks. By the time you read this article I will have been there, as I flew to Sacramento on Wednesday and spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at the park. Saturday through this coming Thursday I will be…guess where? The wine country of Sonoma County visiting friends there. Today, I am celebrating Sunday Masses at St. John the Baptist parish in Healdsburg. See you next weekend!!

Some thoughts about today’s gospel…. “I give you a new commandment”….certainly love of one another was not something new – read Leviticus 19:18. But what was new was to love one another as JESUS loved. This is the astonishing difference in loving if we are to be Jesus’ disciples. Let’s look at the characteristics of Jesus’ love and ask ourselves if those characteristics can be seen in our love.

Jesus’ love was unconditional. While hanging on the cross in agony, he forgave those who crucified him. Mary’s husband Tom was an abusive alcoholic. To protect herself and her children, they divorced. Her ex continued on his downward path. When his alcoholism destroyed his liver, and he was down and out and needed help, Mary cared for him until he died. Like Jesus’ love, hers was unconditional.

Jesus’ love was sacrificial. His first great sacrifice was becoming human. Jesus accepted the limits of time and space to embrace our humanity so that he could save us. When Kay learned that her brother-in-law needed a kidney, she agreed to be tested. She was a match. Despite the fact that she had three young children, she donated her kidney to save his life. Like Jesus’ love, hers was sacrificial.

Jesus loved social as well as the rich leaders. Jesus’ love did not discriminate. Jesus dined with prostitutes and tax collectors – as well as with Jewish leaders, the Pharisees, and scribes. Chris passed by a homeless man every evening when he was on her way to the train station. One day he stopped and asked him what he needed. Wise or not, he brought him home for the night. Chris and his family helped someone whom others had rejected. Like Jesus’ love, theirs did not discriminate.

Jesus treated all as equals. Jesus healed lepers and the Roman centurion’s servant. He washed the feet of the disciples and healed the pagan woman’s daughter. Joey was six when he ran ahead of his parents while touring Chicago’s lakefront. When they caught up with him, he was sitting on a stoop, chatting with a homeless, toothless man. Both were smiling. Like Jesus, Joey not only treated this man as an equal, he truly believed they were equals.

Jesus’s love was compassionate. Jesus had compassion for the widow of Nain and raised her only son to life. Jesus saw a hungry crowd and multiplied loaves and fish to feed them. Many OLM parishioners volunteer at Hesed House to help the homeless. Like Jesus’ love, theirs is compassionate.

As we continue the Easter Season, I wish you joy!

Fr Don

Last Saturday and this Saturday and Sunday we celebrate First Holy Communion with 144 of our parish children. What a joyful day this is! These children are so excited and full of enthusiasm – all dressed up for a special occasion! Mom’s, dad’s, and grandparents are smiling and perhaps reminiscing about their own First Communion day. But, as we’ve aged, have we still kept the same sense of wonder and awe we had on our First Communion day? Or, has receiving the Eucharist become routine? Worse yet, some have stopped receiving communion altogether! Why? When I preach First Communion Masses, I ask the children why do they eat food every day? They know the answer!! To grow, to keep healthy, to keep strong. And yes, we must do that to keep our bodies functioning. BUT, there is another part of us that needs to be fed besides our bodies, and that is our spirit. We are BOTH body and spirit. Why feed one and starve the other? It makes no sense, but many do it! When we feed our spirit with the Eucharist, the very body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus – the original “soul food” – we are strengthened to face and deal with the challenges of life. We are not alone in those times when everything seems to be falling apart. So, if you’ve been away from the Eucharist, I encourage you to go to confession first, then join us around the table to partake in the Eucharist – food for the journey.

And what about adoring Jesus in the Eucharist? I once read an article written by a woman who was invited by a member of her parish to commit to one hour a week to adore the Eucharist in her parish’s chapel. She thought it would be a great way to start the day, so she took an early shift. She wrote about her first time doing it “I felt anything but peaceful. I’d never adored before, and I discovered it’s incredibly hard, at least for me, to sit quietly and pray for that long! I walked out feeling restless and agitated – like I’d failed somehow.” She chatted with a woman who showed up for the next shift who told her how much she enjoys adoring the Eucharist: “Jesus and I just look at each other for a whole hour, and I feel so loved for who I am.” Our first time adorer then realized: “I’d missed the point that Jesus is actually present, which of course makes the encounter a two-way exchange. It wasn’t just me doing all the work of adoring. By being there, Jesus was loving me back. And then it wasn’t work at all!” We have Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30AM to 6:00PM. Join us….Jesus is waiting!

Have a blessed Easter Season!

Fr Don

For a number of years now, the Sunday after Easter has been designated as “Divine Mercy Sunday”.  Our second reading today begins with the words: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope…” In the Gospel reading, Jesus shows mercy to Thomas even though Thomas doubted in the Resurrection. Mercy defines God…..it should define us too! An article I read in the August 2016 issue of Columbia magazine published by the Knights of Columbus was entitled “Mercy Begins in the Home”. The author of the article, Kathleen M. Masi stated that we often think of “mercy” in relation to forgiveness. But if we look at the corporal and spiritual works of mercy in their essence, they are about recognizing and honoring the elemental goodness – the presence of God – in everyone around us. Mercy is about opening our hearts and minds to accept and love others, rather than judge and censure them. She wrote that mercy begins with kindness. But kindness is in short supply these days. Our culture doesn’t encourage us to find the best in others; we’re conditioned to assume the worst. So, she asks how can we expect our children to honor the presence of God in a complete stranger – and even enemies – unless they first learn to honor that presence in who are closest to them? Thus the title of her article “Mercy Begins in the Home.” Throughout the article she gives examples from raising her own children of how showing mercy to others begins with small acts of kindness. As I thought about the article, I realized that “new birth to hope” we celebrate at Easter is a hope that our world, our nation, our families, our very self can be more kind, more merciful. The salvation we celebrate at Easter, mercifully given to us by God through our baptism, is a gift. We are called to BE gifts of mercy to others! So, as an Easter people, on this Sunday we celebrate Divine Mercy, may we show a little of the Divine in us by being merciful to others! Not just today, but for a lifetime!

All are welcome to come to our Divine Mercy celebration today starting at 1:30PM.

Blessed Easter Season!

Fr Don

Today we start the most solemn and wonderful week in the Christian calendar – Holy Week! It is not only a week to remember historical events, but to enter into the mystery of what God has accomplished through these historical events and what God is doing NOW in our lives. They celebrate God’s taking possession of our hearts at their deepest core, recreating us as a new human community, broken like bread for the world’s life – a community rich in compassion, steadfast in hope, and fearless in the search for justice and peace. So I invite you to share in the mystery of God’s love that is so much a part of this week. Come and celebrate the Liturgies of the three sacred days – the Paschal Triduum. While these liturgies are lengthy, when you enter the mystery they celebrate, time stands still! Come and be transformed!!

Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 PM is rooted in the Jewish feast of Passover which celebrates the historical event of the Israelites’ freedom from political slavery in Egypt. Jesus transforms this celebration into a new covenant, celebrating freedom from our slavery to sin and death for those who believe in Him. The bread of ancient freedom Jesus transforms into His very self – body, soul, and divinity – as food for the journey as his disciples. The priesthood of Jesus is rooted in the “mandatum” the command to be of service as He washed the feet of His disciples. That priesthood, shared with ALL the baptized, calls ALL his followers, not just the ordained, to be of service to others.

Holy Thursday also celebrates the institution of the ministerial priesthood shared by the ordained priests of the Church. Following Mass, the Eucharist will be processed to an altar of repose (this year in the PLC) where people can spend time in prayer and reflection, as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, assenting to the will of the Father. Church will be open until midnight. Good Friday is the only day of the year when Mass is not celebrated anywhere in the world. The Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion on

Good Friday at 3:00 PM will start with readings from scripture, a homily, Universal Prayers, then veneration of the wood of the Cross. The Church instructs that only one cross should be used for the veneration, as this contributes to the full symbolism of the rite. I realize this adds to the length of the service, but I believe the symbolism is worth it. The Liturgy concludes with the reception of Holy Communion using hosts that were consecrated at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening.

The Easter Vigil Mass is the most important Mass of the entire Church year! It is even more significant than Christmas!! Starting in darkness we begin with the lighting of the Paschal candle – the symbol of Christ’s Resurrection and triumph over the darkness of death. We hear several scripture readings recalling our connection to our ancestors in faith. New members will be Baptized and Confirmed in the Church. We will renew our own baptismal promises, and be reminded that in Baptism we died with Christ, and because of that, we will share in His Resurrection. We will share in the Eucharist and become once again an Easter people! Join Us!

This weekend is the Men’s CRHP (Christ Renews His Parish) retreat, and next weekend is the Women’s CRHP retreat. Please keep the retreatants in your prayers these two weekends that they will have a life changing encounter with Jesus. Thanks and may God bless the teams that are leading the retreat weekends. The fruits of your labors will be seen in the new enthusiasm for Jesus and his Church that the retreatants will leave with.

It is hard to imagine that Lent will soon be over! Next week is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. Lent will end with the beginning of the celebration of The Sacred Paschal Triduum, starting with the celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening. The Sacred Paschal Triduum ends at the conclusion of the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday evening. Even though Lent ends on Holy Thursday evening, we begin the Paschal fast that goes through the celebration of the Easter Vigil.

So, what you gave up for Lent is to continue until the conclusion of the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday evening. Then you can have that chocolate!! So what does the Sacred Paschal Triduum – Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil – celebrate? While we recall the events of salvation history, the Triduum celebrates not what once happened to Jesus, but what is NOW happening among us as a people called to conversion, gathered in faith, and gifted with the Spirit of holiness. The liturgies of the Triduum celebrate God’s taking possession of our hearts at their deepest core, recreating us as a new human community broken like bread for the world’s life – a community, rich in compassion, steadfast in hope and fearless in the search for justice and peace. I invite and encourage you to celebrate all three liturgies of the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil) with us as one single seamless three-day celebration. And then, be bathed in the light of the Resurrection as you renew your baptismal promises on Easter!

At the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening we will begin using new communion cups. The cups that have been used for many years are ceramic and some have chipped and the gold plating inside is wearing off. In the past, only cups made of precious metal were used for communion. After Vatican II the Church affirmed the goodness of vessels made of other materials such as pottery, wood, and glass. At my ordination in 1981 my cousins presented me a set (chalice, paten, cruets) of hand-made ceramic with their names on the bottom of the paten. After the experience of many years of using these materials, the Church has returned to the use of communion vessels made of precious metals. This is not to say that other materials are not dignified to hold the Body and Blood of Jesus, but that these materials are susceptible to breakage and spillage. As I mentioned, we will start using our new cups on Holy Thursday.

Have a blessed Lent!

Fr Don

Congratulations Deacon Senovio Sarabia, Jr.! Our seminarian intern who has been with us since the fall of 2017 was ordained a transitional deacon yesterday. We are thrilled to have been a part of his preparation for ministry and this special day. His first Mass to serve as a deacon is today at 9:00AM here at Our Lady of Mercy. He will continue to be with us on weekends until school is out for the summer. This summer he will be living with Fr. Mark and myself. He will have some responsibilities here at the parish and at various diocesan events for youth during the summer. When he returns to school this fall, he will continue to be with us on most weekends and will deacon a weekend Mass and occasionally preach. Assuming Deacon Senovio passes his final courses and is recommended by the seminary, he should be ordained a priest in May 2020. We pledge our prayerful support as Deacon Senovio embraces this final period of preparation for the priesthood. And we look forward to his diaconal ministry with us!

Because we have adults to be baptized at the Easter Vigil, we use the ACycle scripture readings for Mass today even though we are in the C-Cycle readings this year. The Scrutiny’s are celebrated on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent with those to be baptized at the Easter Vigil and the prayers are based on the A-Cycle readings. Today we celebrate the 2nd Scrutiny at the 9:00AM Mass. The 3rd and final Scrutiny will be celebrated at the 10:45AM Mass next Sunday.

The C-Cycle gospel you won’t hear today is the story of the prodigal son. So, I would like to share a few thoughts about this familiar gospel. This being the 4th Sunday of Lent or “Laetare” “Rejoice” Sunday, there is much to rejoice about! Jesus addressed this story to the scribes and Pharisees because of their efforts to undermine his message. The story is of two sons who had a falling out with their father. Neither son had a grasp of his true relationship with the father. Each operated out of his own desires and suppositions. And neither was filled with joy. The younger son didn’t see what he had. He imagined that he could find a better life away from his father and family. That son broke away after demanding his inheritance. The older son also did not see what he had. However, this son stayed at home and did what was expected of him. But his heart was not in it. Inside, he may have been jealous of his brother, who had the nerve to ask for his inheritance and then skipped out to squander it on loose living. Both sons needed to return to the father – and so do we. Jesus addressed this parable to the scribes and Pharisees – and to us. We are all sinners. We are in need of God’s loving kindness, God’s ever-available mercy. Like the father in this parable, the God of love and mercy is always waiting for our return! And THAT is worth REJOICING about!

Have a Blessed Lent!

Fr Don

We welcome Deacon Keith Strohm to Our Lady of Mercy Parish! Deacon Keith is a Deacon in the Archdiocese of Chicago and Executive Director of M3 Ministries. He will be leading our parish Lenten Mission March 25th through 27th. I attended a workshop given by him last summer sponsored by our Diocesan Religious Education Office. I was very much enriched by his presentation on the five paradigm shifts parish leadership must undertake to transform parishes into a culture of discipleship and mission. This transition has begun at Our Lady of Mercy.

I invite and encourage you to attend our Lenten Mission. Invite neighbors and family who don’t belong to OLM to join you. The Good News is for EVERYONE! I am sure you will enjoy and be enriched by Deacon Keith’s presentations: Monday’s presentation is “The Father’s Delight”, Tuesday’s presentation is “Breaking the Power of Sin” and Wednesday’s presentation is “Unleashing the Spirit”. I urge you not to miss this opportunity!!

Even though we are in the “C cycle” scripture readings for Mass, we will be using the “A cycle” readings this weekend and the next two weekend at all the Masses. This is because we have adults to be baptized at the Easter Vigil this year and on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent, a liturgical rite called “Scrutiny” is celebrated with the Elect – those to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. The scrutinies are based on three specific gospel stories that are found in the “A cycle” readings. The scrutinies solemnly celebrated on Sundays, are rites for self-searching and repentance and have, above all, a spiritual purpose. The scrutinies are meant to uncover, and then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good.  The scrutinies are celebrated in order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against temptation, and to give them strength in Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. Because they are asking for the three sacraments of initiation, the Elect must have the intention of achieving an intimate knowledge of Christ and his Church, and they are expected particularly to progress in genuine self-knowledge through serious examination of their lives and true repentance. In order to inspire in the Elect a desire for purification and redemption by Christ, three scrutinies are celebrated. By this means, first of all, the Elect are instructed gradually about the mystery of sin, from which the whole world and every person longs to be delivered and thus saved from its present and future consequences. Second, their spirit is filled with Christ the Redeemer, who is the living water (gospel of the Samaritan woman in the First Scrutiny), the light of the world (gospel of the man born blind in the Second Scrutiny), the resurrection and the life (gospel of Lazarus in the Third Scrutiny). From the first to the final Scrutiny the elect should progress in their perception of sin and their desire for salvation.

While the Scrutinies will be celebrated at a different Mass each weekend, we ALL join with the elect in praying to be delivered from the power of sin and to be renewed in our baptismal promises at Easter. Thus, the “A cycle” readings will be used for all Masses the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent.

Have a Blessed Lent!

Fr Don